Saturday 5^th July                    SPEAN BRIDGE – GLENCOE – HELENSBURG – GLASGOW

It was still raining when we woke up in our Spean Bridge B&B, and we went down at 8 for another large, cooked breakfast from Margaret. Cait and Danny called, then we headed upstairs to finish our packing, as this was yet another travel day.

Margaret sent us on our way at 9 with a packet of delicious home cooked shortbread biscuits she’d made yesterday, and we waved goodbye as we drove off into the rain. There was still a yellow weather warning from the Met (heavy rainfall and localised flooding.) We headed along the same road to Fort William we’d taken a few times, then turned towards Ballachulish, and this time successfully continued to the Glencoe Visitor Centre (National Trust, so we didn’t have to pay for parking.) We looked at the huge model of the map while Brian, one of the Trust employees, explained it all to us. I certainly hadn’t realised that the main A road south ran through the glen; talk about the scenic route! We thanked him, and headed off.

Glencoe scale model

Well, a lack of enough superlatives comes in to play again with Glencoe; the mountains are positively awe inspiring, even today when they were frequently covered in cloud and mist. We had several stops along the way to take photographs, as every time you came around a corner there were new and stunning vistas! Because we’d left the centre around ten, it wasn’t yet too busy – Brian said that on weekends in summer as the day goes on, the car parks are absolutely packed, but we were quite lucky. We were also reasonably fortunate in the weather – there was really very little rain while we were in the glen, and what there was, was relatively light. It was cold and windy, though, so there was a lot of jumping out to take photos, then dashing back to the car. I only had 5 layers on including my raincoat, and that wasn’t quite enough…..

                                               The cloud just wrapped around the mountains

                                                   The Three Sisters

                                                          Many flowing streams and waterfalls

We finally made our way out of the glen around 11 o'clock, as the scenery flattened out around us and we realised we were on moorland now. We called into the Glencoe Ski Resort, which was a fancy name for the chair lift, a big wooden building for the café, and a lot of little separate wooden boxes and pods which must be the accommodation. I hope the heating works well in winter! Anyway, we had a cuppa and looked it all over. The chair lift would have been fun on a really nice day, but not at all enjoyable today.

                                                       Mountain resort for morning tea

From here, we headed south, through changing landscapes. There was certainly a lot of water lying around, but no real flooding that we could see, and the rain was on and off as we drove along. More mountains and lochs, but nothing as high or stunning as Glencoe. We came down onto Loch Lomond (famed for its bonny, bonny banks in the song) and drove along it for a long way. It is huge! To be honest, it didn’t really look all that bonny today, as it was swathed in cloud and misty fog for a good deal of the time, but I’m sure it’s gorgeous when the sun is shining.

                                             Loch Lomond and its bonny, bonny banks

We were starting to think about lunch, and there were still several hours before we could book into our Glasgow motel, so I looked at National Trust properties in the area, and came up with gold. Hill House, the house designed and built by the famous Glasgow architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh, was quite close by, so we set our path to there, arriving right on one o’clock. We were admitted for free, then had lunch in the Mackintosh styled café (vegetable soup – very nice.)

Mackintosh designed and built the Hill House for Walter Blackie, a rich Glasgow businessman, in 1902-4. He and his wife, Margaret Macdonald, completely designed and created the furnishings and décor to all match and complement each other in an early Art Noveau style. The house is widely acclaimed now as a piece of genius, and it’s owned by the National Trust. There was considerable panic a few years ago when they realised that the house’s rendering was simply not coping with the Scottish weather, and damp was ruining it. Their innovative solution was to build a huge metal framework around the house and roof it totally to allow it to dry out and extensive renovations to be carried out, which will apparently take about 15 years. I’d read an article about it, but hadn’t realised how huge the cage and framework are. We walked right up to the top and over the roofline, so could certainly see it from all angles.

                                      Very impressive structure enclosing Hill House

After that, we came down (glad to get out of the cold wind) and into the house itself. It’s built over three levels, but visitors aren’t allowed into the top floors. The house is amazing; like a time capsule. Everything in it was designed by Mackintosh or his wife, and it’s gorgeous. Mrs Blackie liked roses, so they are a theme throughout, as is the colour pink. It would have been a very liveable house as the layout is very well though out and practical, which was important to Mackintosh. We had a wonderful time exploring it all, then had a walk in the gardens outside.

                                                                    Living room

                                                       Rose motif was repeated throughout

                                                            Dining room

                                                                 Main bedroom

                                                           The house from the wildflower lawn

                                                          Mrs Blackie's rose garden

Finally, we headed for Glasgow and the Holiday Inn we are staying in tonight. Lex dropped me off with our overnight luggage and went to book the car into parking nearby. Since then, I’ve had a nice cuppa, one of Margaret’s shortbreads, and started the blog. Around 6, we headed out for a bit of a look at Glasgow. We’re just near the River Clyde, so walked along it for a while. There’s a huge park, Glasgow Green, that starts only a block away, but it’s all set up for some huge festival, so we really couldn’t walk around there. We decided to set a path for the nearest Wetherspoons, The Crystal Palace, and managed to get a table there for a much cheaper evening meal than we’ve been paying lately! Bonus – it is only 8 minutes’ walk from our hotel. Tomorrow, we’re planning to have a bit of a look around Glasgow, before heading to the Lake District. And hopefully nicer weather!

                                              I loved the Charles Rennie Mackintosh mural.                                                                                                      (I bought the fridge magnet!)

                                                  Barrage on the River Clyde